Brewers Should Jump All Over Opportunity To Trade For This Rays Infielder

The Milwaukee Brewers still have a massive opening on their roster at first base. While there are several free agent options remaining on the market, the trade market could be just as fruitful.

According to a Ken Rosenthal report, the Tampa Bay Rays are shopping first baseman Harold Ramirez in trade discussions.

The Brewers should absolutely be all over this opportunity to upgrade their starting lineup and put together a trade package to acquire Ramirez from Tampa Bay. We've written that Ramirez would make sense before and now he's on the market.

Harold Ramirez would be the perfect trade upgrade for the Brewers at first base and DH.

Ramirez has two seasons of club control remaining, and he's an electric hitter. Last season, in 400 ABs, Ramirez hit .313 with an .813 OPS and 125 OPS+. For reference, the Brewers top hitter last year was William Contreras, who hit .289 with a 125 OPS+.

For his career, Ramirez is a .289 hitter and has never struck out more than 91 times in a season. He doesn't walk at a particularly good clip, but his ability to make contact consistently and hit for such a high average is a very desirable quality.

As a corner bat, Ramirez is lacking power. He set a career high in home runs last season with 12 long balls, which isn't a lot for someone who would play first base on this Brewers roster. The Brewers do need to add some thump to their lineup and hit for more power and Ramirez wouldn't necessarily solve that. Still, hitting .300 or better in back to back seasons means he'd be a fit in any lineup, especially Milwaukee's.

A right handed hitter, Ramirez could platoon with Jake Bauers at first base, and when he's not in the field, Ramirez could be the DH. The Brewers don't have anyone currently slated for regular DH duty on the roster. Christian Yelich could see a lot of time there due to the immense outfield depth the Brewers have, but the front office has not said they intend to move Yelich there the majority of the time.

Ramirez is affordable, controllable, and available. The Brewers should be all over the Rays about getting a deal done. They've been willing to part with quality minor league depth for fringe additions like Bauers, Oliver Dunn, and Bryan Hudson, so they should be more than willing to part with more of that depth to acquire someone of consequence who will actually improve this Brewers roster.